Neh 13:1-5 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Neh 13:1-3: 13:1-3 On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44 ), the text from Deut 23:3-6 was read. It said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Neh 13:4-14 ) that these teachings were no longer being observed.

Summary for Neh 13:1-3: 13:1-3 ^a On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44 ^b), the text from Deut 23:3-6 ^c was read. It said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Neh 13:4-14 ^d) that these teachings were no longer being observed.
Summary for Neh 13:4-14: 13:4-14 ^e Eliashib the priest (see 12:10 ^f, 22 ^g; 13:28 ^h) had stopped following the practice of excluding the Ammonites and Moabites (13:1 ⁱ), and the people quit giving their tithes to the Levites (13:10-12 ^j). Now, Nehemiah corrected these problems.
Summary for Neh 13:4-5: 13:4-5 ^k Eliashib’s family intermarried with the families of Sanballat (13:28 ^l) and Tobiah. Both of these men were enemies of the Jewish community (2:10 ^m, 19 ⁿ; 4:1 ^o). Tobiah’s use of the storeroom meant there was less room to store tithes and gifts for the Temple workers (cp. 10:39 ^p; 13:10-12 ^q; 2 Chr 31:11 ^r) and less space for supplies needed to conduct regular worship at the Temple (Lev 2 ^s).